We thought January would be the perfect time to spread the word about what we’re calling “The Lighter Side of Let’s Dish!”, which essentially makes it easier for you to spot healthy choices while you’re in our stores. What qualifies a meal as being part of the “Lighter Side of Let’s Dish!”? Our guideline is that main course of the meal and the included side together are under 400 calories per serving. The next time you’re in our store, check out our Ready Made case and look for this logo to find a healthy meal selection. (A smaller version also appears on our printed and online menus indicating meals that are part of the Lighter Side of Let’s Dish!)

Again, our focus is a healthy lifestyle and giving you the option to make the healthier choice (check out Ashley’s blog post about making the better choice). It also comes down to this: we’re a local, family-owned business and we have hectic schedules too, (read: soccer practice, karate, chorus recitals, etc!) and we want to make a healthy lifestyle more obtainable. This is just one way we strive to make a difference. We hope you’ll stop by our stores and try our healthier selections and see how easy it can be to make the better choice.

Cheers,

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She’s living proof!  So, whether you’re trying to lose 5lbs or 100lbs, and even if you’re not, I think this is a mantra that we all can keep in mind.  This week, I decided to get on the bandwagon.  So far I:

1. Rode my bike to the farmers market on Sunday (I usually drive the three miles and fight for a parking spot.  Tying my bike up to a tree and walking right into the market was pure bliss.)

2. Ordered the small latte at Starbucks instead of my usual venti (Saved myself 90 calories!)

3. Was in the mood for something crunchy and chose baby carrots instead of chips.

4. Enjoyed Firecracker Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries for dinner.

How does the last one count?  I had the choice to eat out, and was really in the mood for chicken fingers. Instead, I stayed home and enjoyed Let’s Dish! Firecracker Chicken instead of Chicken Fingers and Fries from TGIFridays,  saving me approximately 825 calories and 55 grams of fat (and some $$)!  Here’s how the two meals stack up:

Let’s Dish!

TGIFridays

See more comparisons like these, here.

I’ll admit it.  I chose to eat two of our Almost Homemade Heath Bar Crunch cookies today.  And they were worth it.  That’s where the “almost” comes in (”I almost always make the best choice”) right?

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Wow! 158 lbs!  We knew we had to get the story!  Luckily, Fran was willing to share her weight-loss journey with us, and be our featured disher for our March newsletter (look out for it in your inbox on March 1st!).  Here’s her letter to us, complete with an amazing before and after pic (doesn’t she look great?!):

Dear Ashley,

Thank you so much for offering to feature my weight loss journey in your March newsletter.  I am somewhat embarrassed by how much I used to weigh, but it’s moments like these that make me realize how much I have actually accomplished… all with the help of Let’s Dish!.  By this Sunday, I expect my total loss to be at 160 pounds, with less than 40 pounds to go to get to my goal.

I work all day, live alone, and don’t have the motivation to come home and take the time to prepare a nice dinner.  I use the Dish-n-Dash option, which could not be any easier.  I order my favorite meals online, request that everything be split into 3-serving meals, and then pick them up on the date I’ve chosen.  I’ve been on Weight Watches for almost 20 months now, and honestly, Let’s Dish! has made losing 160 pounds a pleasure.  I get the most delicious meals at a great price with nutrition and points information provided.  No longer does losing weight have to be difficult or require deprivation thanks to Let’s Dish!.

Thanks again for thinking of me,

Fran, here’s a big round of applause from your friends at Let’s Dish!  We’re all truly inspired by your story and are thrilled to be a part of it.

Fran’s journey got us thinking a little bit, too.  We’re proud that dishing helps families live a healthy lifestyle, but maybe there’s something more we can do?  Would a monthly weight-loss support group at our stores be something of interest?  Or, perhaps, a newsletter specific about weight-loss tricks? You tell us!  We’d love to hear your own weight-loss stories and suggestions!

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This year, the Let’s Dish! team made a few resolutions of our own, and we’re sticking to ‘em!  The first is to bring you even more tasty meals in 2011.  January’s menu includes our NEW Sticky Orange Chicken with Broccoli, which already has a 4.5 star rating on letsdish.com, and Southern Style Shrimp Pot Pies, carrying a 4.7 star rating.  New in February: Beef in Whiskey Glaze (soon to be your new favorite crockpot meal!) and Roasted Veggie and Cavatappi Skillet (veggie lovers rejoice!).  Here’s to starting 2011 off right!

We’ve also resolved to make it even easier for dishers to live a healthy lifestyle.  This has always been an important goal of ours, but we knew we could do better.  So, this month, we’ve launched a few new tools:

1. New “Under 400 Calories” Icon: This new icon tells you exactly which Let’s Dish! meals have a lower calorie count, without having to dig into the nutritional information (talk about easy!).  We’re proud to say that over half our meals on each menu fall under this category.

2. Updated Weight Watchers Points/PointPlus information:  For all you die-hard Weight Watchers out there, you’ll be excited to know that we’ve updated our entire system to be consistent with the new PointsPlus program.  We also kept the old point values for those of you who don’t like change :).  Are you a member?  Help us spread the word and earn FREE meals! Find out how.

3. Access to all nutritional information through My Cookbook: Now, you can access the nutritional information for ALL of our meals (regardless of which ones you’ve dished), by logging into your Let’s Dish! account and clicking on “My Cookbook.”

I’m proud that Let’s Dish! makes it easy to eat better, without busting our budgets or giving up the foods that we love.  Has Let’s Dish! helped your family to live a healthier lifestyle?  If so, we’d love to hear it!  Post below, or email your story to questions@letsdish.net.  Plus, you can read about the weight loss journey of Renee and Brian Parks here for some motivation!

Cheers to a happy, healthy 2011!

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My mother recently made the change in her own diet and has felt an increase in energy. She’s even dropped a few unwanted pounds, something that I, like most of us, would certainly welcome. So what do I have to lose? Nothing.

And so, my gluten-free journey has begun. At my first opportunity I stocked my fridge and pantry. On the list: quinoa (more on that another day), cheese, yogurt, fresh veggies, hummus, and some more cheese (Can you tell I’m happy that cheese is gluten-free?!). As soon as I returned from the grocery store, I prepared my lunch and snacks for the week. I work evenings in the Columbia store as a Host and didn’t want to set myself up for failure by not having gluten-free options on hand. (You would cave on the scones, too!)

Instead of focusing on what I can’t eat, I’m making it a point to celebrate what I can. Dark chocolate and Greek yogurt have been satisfying my sweet tooth. I love pasta tosses and Mediterranean flavors, so I am simply swapping out the pasta for gluten-free options like quinoa or rice. With roasted red peppers, feta, parmesan, shredded carrots, fresh spinach and kalamata olives, I hardly missed the pasta. As far as those snacks to bring to the store and keep me away from scones – yogurt and carrots with hummus have been doing the trick for me.

Dishing has actually made the transition easier. When I made my meals last week, I was careful to choose those that were already gluten-free or simply required minimal substitutions or eliminations to the ingredients. My favorite meal so far has been the White Wine and Herb Mahi with Orzo Rice Florentine. I swapped out the orzo for white rice and it was fantastic. I used a rice cooker to make the rice and spinach, as I do with all of the Let’s Dish! rice sides. It saves the fuss of watching it on the stovetop and is super easy to clean.

Looking forward to the October menu, I’m anxious to try the Savory Apricot Shrimp. I’ve already tried the Roasted Java Pork Tenderloin at Happy Hour in the store and cannot wait to dish it and bring it home. Both meals appear to be gluten-free with little or no modifications. This diet is looking up!

I’m excited to see how these changes to my diet affect me and how I’ll muddle through life without pasta and bread. Every few weeks, I’ll blog about my progress, discoveries, hits and misses, and I look forward to hearing your comments about your own gluten-free adventure.

>Learn about Gluten Freedom, our monthly update for gluten-free dishers

Disclaimer: Slate LD, LLC produces newsletters and articles like this one as a service to our customers who suffer from various food allergies. They are guides, and represent our best efforts to provide good options using all the information at our disposal. Every person’s situation is unique, and we cannot guarantee that our store environment or prep area is 100% free of any specific food. Therefore, the final decision concerning which diet to follow or which of our meals to consume must be made carefully by each individual in consultation with a medical professional. Neither Let’s Dish!® International, Inc. nor any other organization has endorsed these suggestions.

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